National Clothes

National Clothes

Vyshyvanka (an embroided shirt) is a traditional embroidered piece of clothing. People also embroider blouses, dresses, skirts and aprons. Embroidery was started by women and is still considered to be a woman’s activity today. Almost every woman knows how to embroider in Ukraine.

Embroidery has a long history. It was used to decorate fabrics for home and churches. Embroidered fabrics mainly included towels, pillowcases, handkerchiefs, etc. An embroidered rushnyk is a symbolic piece of cloth that is used in many rituals, during a wedding for example.

The main piece of clothing that is embroidered is a shirt. Mostly sleeves, cuffs, the neck, and the front are embroidered. There are many designs. Different areas in Ukraine have various ornamental patterns. Some of them are presented below.

Natalie Kononenko in Costume

Here are two Object Movies of Natalie Kononenko.
She can be rotated to show the complete costume.

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Here are two people in Edmonton wearing traditional clothing from different parts of Ukraine.

This is what a married woman from
the Rivne Region would wear:
a blouse with red and black
embroidery, a red wool skirt,
and a black decorated vest.
The necklace is made of amber.

This outfit is from the Chernivtsi
Region: a blouse, a thick
dark skirt with a thick
woven belt, and a
heavy animal skin
vest with coral jewelry.

In the Poltava Region
the embroidery has a lot of
flowers. She is also wearing
a red checkered overskirt,
an apron, and a long vest
with coral necklaces.

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This man is wearing clothes from
the Chernivtsi Region. He has a
linen shirt with brightly
coloured embroidery around the neck
and wrists. He is also wearing a heavy,
animal-skin jacket, linen pants and
a thick, woven belt

These are clothes from the
Rivne Region. His shirt has red
embroidery around the neck,
down the front and around the
wrists. He is wearing linen pants,
a thick, woven belt and an
overcoat.